1. Overview of Interoperability

DEWI has installed a dedicated Interoperability Domain to ensure an efficient technical management all along the DEWI project and to align identical technologies amongst the four industrial domains of DEWI described above. The Interoperability Domain targets to increase the visibility of the project results by the development of generic methods, processes, and tools for resource management and mastering mixed requirements for intra-vehicle / smart environment /smart home / smart cities.Interoperability Domain is split into 5 distinct activities:

WP6.0 SP Coordination Interoperability

WP6.1 Technology Item & Technology Item groups

WP6.2 High-level Architecture

WP6.3 Know-how Transfer

WP6.4 Standardization, Regulation, Certification

Figure 1: Interoperability Domain as central organ to align identical technologies amongst the four other domains.

2. Specific challenges / Business needs

Challenges within Interoperability Domain deal with aligning technologies and includes:

Derive the metrics needed for the technical progress monitoring within each domain. By having these metrics defined, we can make the technical progress visible as it were some kind of thermometer.

Derive input for each of the nine Technology Item Groups describing the interoperability framework of functional and non-functional specifications.

Derive a high level architecture definition and perform interoperability analysis between the different domains of DEWI.

Enable methods of know-how transfer within and cross domains. This includes possible co-operations with other projects that are beneficial for the progress within DEWI.

3. Approaches and Solutions

A main focus is on the communication between the four domains (within each domain a so-called mirror work package is defined) and the partners in the Interoperability Domain distinct activities. This communication has to be clear and effective in order to achieve DEWI’s goals. Maintaining effective communication between the aforementioned partners is a joint Interoperability Domain responsibility.

For example, requirements that originate from the different domains that can potentially be used amongst all of them, are gathered in so-called High Level Aggregated Requirements.

Another example concerns knowledge managements. Topics that are beneficial for all domains (read: partners) are gathered and dedicated sessions are organised during the F2F meetings.

4. Interoperability, Technology Items

Interoperability is defined as the ability of diverse sensor networks or sensor nodes to exchange information and to make mutual use of the information that has been exchanged. DEWI follows the official definitions coming from ISO/IEC 29182-2:2013(E) [Information technology — Sensor networks: Sensor Network Reference Architecture (SNRA) — Part 2: Vocabulary and terminology].

Nine technology items are defined within DEWI; they are listed in the table below.

TIG

TIG Name

TIG01

Flexible data acquisition, aggregation & fusion

TIG02

Smart architecture

TIG03

HW/SW co-design

TIG04

Security, privacy, authorization

TIG05

Re- / auto- / self-configuration

TIG06

Smart energy management and harvesting

TIG07

Dependability, robustness & safety

TIG08

Wireless sensor / device detection & localization

TIG09

Wireless standards

5. Groups and Standardization, Regulation

Cooperation with relevant standardization and regulation bodies is crucial to disseminate the findings from the DEWI project. Preparatory steps are taken in order to identify and prioritize those areas of work in which standardization, regulation and certification might be-come relevant in a subsequent research and development (R&D) phase. Furthermore, structures are to be established, networks and cooperations are to be approached which enable a “fast track” in cases where it might be-come apparent that a certain DEWI technology has the potential and format to serve as a standard for comprehensive application in wireless devices. To date DEWI has managed to create an official category “C” liaison with ISO/IEC JTC 1/WG 7 “Sensor Networks”. Additionally, a possible co-operation with the IEEE 802.15.x standardization groups is being prepared.

6. Deliverables

Partners in Interoperability Domain will generate more than 25 documents with fundamental results, part of it will be made publicly available, and shall provide a pool of knowledge to Europe’s research institutions and industry. Year 1 revealed nine of such knowledge documents.